Obama’s climate legacy on trial

Carl Pope, Sierra Club’s former director, counters the economic harm argument by saying the number of coal plants retired under the EPA’s previous air pollution rules are driving cleaner sources of electricity, with very little harm to the economy.

The country is already moving away from coal, and the Clean Power Plan follows that trend line. This argument helped him win an Open to Debate formerly known as Intelligence Squared U.S. Oxford-style debate this month on the Clean Power Plan, and the legal challenges against it.

The motion for debate was “Climate Change: The EPA Has Gone Overboard.” It was held live at George Washington University and webcast. Online and live polling were done before and after the debate. Before the debate, 59 percent were against the motion that the EPA had gone overboard. By the end of the debate, 72 percent were against the motion.

Those for the motion stood at 18 percent before the debate, and 23 percent in post-debate live and online electronic polling.